Ok,
first let me go over the first amendment, labor in the US, and a simple truth
that isn’t up for debate.
The
first amendment protects US citizens’ right to speech, religion, assembly, etc.
It doesn’t guarantee the right to an audience or to push your religious views
on other people. Also, the area of this amendment most clearly under attack is
the right to assemble, which you can see every time a protest is broken up for
blocking a bridge or the street or because a permit wasn’t obtained. When a person is thrown in jail, censored,
or otherwise restrained from speech that is a violation of the first amendment.
Most states in the US are at will
employment states. This means you
and/or your employer can cease your relationship at any time for just about
anything. Discrimination claims are the exception. These claims are very hard
to prove, see Lilly Ledbetter for details on that one. Additionally, I believe Louisiana
is a Right to Work state, which means your employer has all the rights, and you
have the right to shut up and take it.
Simple
truth: In the United States of America,
Christians are not persecuted. That is all. You can tell because they aren’t
being rounded up and shipped off for indefinite detainment. They aren’t being
spied on, well any more than the rest of us. They are the majority of our representation
in government. So think long and hard before you invoke persecution rhetoric
here. Especially when we’re about to talk about a man who things black people were
better off under Jim Crowe.
Let
me say, if the conservative right wants to come over to my side and set up some
boundaries for employers they are more than welcome. But keep in mind this
stuff doesn’t happen in a vacuum. You can’t argue employers can’t fire people for
speaking out about their beliefs, but defend Walmart’s union busting for
employees who speak out about their beliefs in collective bargaining. You can’t
say A&E can’t impose their beliefs on equality on Phil Robertson, but
support the Catholic Church’s right not to provide birth control coverage to
their employees. Consistency is required.
So
what happened? Phil Robertson, of Duck Dynasty fame, during an interview with
GQ magazine said a variety of nasty stuff. I read about this from the Chicago
Tribune, but then ended up have a conversation about it with a friend
of mine. My understanding is that Robertson is a Christian, and that this is
often played up on the show. Remember this is about a television show owned by
A&E.
A&E
issued a statement, “We are extremely disappointed to have read Phil Robertson’s
comments in GQ, which are based on his own personal beliefs and are nor
reflected in the series ‘Duck Dynasty.” It continued, “His personal views in no
way reflect those of A&E Networks, who have always been strong supporters
and champions of the LGBT community. The network placed Phil under hiatus from
filming indefinitely.”
So
Robertson was suspended from filming. He continues to have the right to say
anything, in fact he should head over to Fox, they love this shit. However,
A&E as his employer do not have to tolerate hate speech on their network.
As a company if his statements conflict with their mission and company values
they can show him the door. Welcome to corporate America.
However,
according to the Tribune, Robertson
will probably be back next season. . Robertson’s statements centered on the
sinfulness of gays and black people under Jim Crowe. Yes, that Jim Crowe.
Robertson’s quotes:
“Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that women and that women and those men. Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostituted, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers—they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right.”“It seems like, to me, a vagina—as a man—would more desirable than a man’s anus. That’s just me. I’m just thinking. There’s more there! She’s got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I’m saying? But hey, sin: It’s not logical, my man. It’s just not logical.”“Where we lived was all farmers. The blacks worked for the farmers. I hoed cotton with them. I’m with the blacks because we’re white trash. They’re singing and happy. I never heard one of them, one black person, say, ‘I tell you what: These doggone white people’—not a word!...Pre-entitlement, pre-welfare, you say: Were they happy? They were godly, they were happy; no one was singing the blues.”
All
the things. All of them. Forget for a moment he is wrong about welfare and entitlement programs all together. Homosexuality isn’t bestiality. People can’t pick
their sexuality. I’m hoping those other things women have to offer is more than
a fuckable hole, and black people weren’t better off under Jim Crowe.
Robertson
also released a follow-up statement, “I would never treat anyone with
disrespect just because they are different from me. We are all created by the
Almighty and like Him, I love all of humanity. We would all be better off if we
loved God and loved each other.”
This
is where I take a moment to point out the cultural differences between us and him,
this is also a generational gap. For example, my grandmother believed some
hella racist things based on Cain and Able. Just saying. But this isn’t about
Robertson being homophobic or racist, this is about his rights and the rights
of his employers. For me this isn’t about religion at all, which seems to be a
point of contention as well. Leave it to the atheist to see this as a
conversation about labor not religion. Robertson can believe and say whatever
he wants. But we don’t have to listen or give him a platform.
So rights, religion is becoming
more and more often the citation people run to when they are trying to strip
others of their rights. This is particularly true in respect to people of
color, women, and the LGBTQ communities. These are communities seeing their
rights systematically stripped away for everyone one victory there are hundreds
(not hyperbolic) defeats. So people in these communities are going to be very
offended when someone cries about their rights being violated, when they aren’t.
Religion is a very clear example of how personal views are political. But
Robertson’s freedom of religion wasn’t violated at all.
See, even from a
Constitutional level, Robertson isn’t having his freedom of speech violated.
His comments were published. He hasn’t been jailed. That said he is a public
figure, and everyone has to take responsibility for the consequences of their
actions and statements. The more famous you are the larger the fallout. Robertson
will be and should be held accountable for his actions by his family, friends,
employers, and fans.
Now, for a thought exercise:
Imagine if you will that Robertson was the father from the “All-American
Muslim” television show. During an
interview with GQ, he says women were happier before they could vote and when
rape was a property crime. Also, that Christianity has been ruined by America because
the corruption of Christianity by capitalism. He is then suspended from TLC
with a similar statement as the one from A&E. Everyone is still going to
run around defending his right to free speech, right?
Probably not. So let’s
recognize this defense of Robertson is because he’s a white, Christian man. He
expressed his views, which aren’t the views of all Christians, or white people,
or men, so let’s take that concern away too.
Thought exercise number two:
Imagine, I am speaking at a conference, where in my bio it is listed where I
work, and I say “I believe inequity in the US has contributed to the systematic
oppression of all people. If you benefit from this in any way you are
contributing to the problem. As a society we are better off supporting a new system
of wealth redistribution. After all, that is my interpretation of the New
Testament, specifically Matthew 21:12-13.” Can my employer reprimand me?
I am making an argument that
can easily be conveyed as support of communism, though I never said communism. I
rooted it in a belief and interpretation of my beliefs. It may even be factual
and supported by data. But my employer does have the right to suspend me,
possibly even fire me, at will employment remember.
Finally, I would love a
national employee bill of rights that protects employees from dismissal for the
sharing of personal beliefs as long as they are not harassing anyone else.
Employers have far too much control over their employees’ lives. However, that
is not the world we live in.
guys...... i
just can't anymore pic.twitter.com/vqA0MtQn2q
—
A Really Nice Tree (@dadflannels) December
19, 2013
I mean that
most people assume the First Amendment extends to all parts of their life,
including employment. And it’s just not close to true
—
Michael Whitney (@michaelwhitney) December
19, 2013
